Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
Overall rank: 4
The economy in Little Rock, the state capital, has remained strong though the local unemployment rate has been rising. Windstream, a telecom services provider based in Little Rock, recently announced it would eliminate 350 jobs by January. Employment in the Little Rock metro peaked in the first quarter of last year. Gross metropolitan product in the second quarter was down just 2.8% from the peak in the third quarter of 2008. Home prices grew 3% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. And the unemployment rate in June was 6.6%, up 2.1 points from a year earlier. (Please see below for the various criteria used by the Brookings Institution to determine the overall ranking.)
Job growth (since peak) rank: 11
Gross Metro Product (since peak) rank: 24
Unemployment change (year over year) rank: 7
Home price change (year over year) rank:11
